


Reading

by WinryMarellie



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: F/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4218000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinryMarellie/pseuds/WinryMarellie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A headcanon I have about Ayato regarding the fact he never had much of a chance to learn. Some light AyaHina is included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“You can borrow it if you'd like!” Hinami's sing-song tone radiated from the smile on her face. She was a beam of sunlight embodied in her petite frame, delicate hands holding out a book to the man in front of her.

“I don't have time for shit like that.” Ayato grumbled, waving a hand in response as he turned his body away slightly. How did he end up in this situation? Oh, that's right, he was curious. Curiosity killed the cat, he supposed. Or in this case, the rabbit.

She frowned and clutched the book to her chest, “Are you positive? You've been looking at it ever since I bought it, and even picked it up at one point to flip through it.” She held it out again and tried to push it into his hands, “You seemed really interested in it. I just finished it and it was really good. I'd be happy to let you borrow it if you really want to read it.”

Of course the one time he was curious about something, she noticed. He wanted to know why she was so fascinated with such a stupid concept. Reading was a waste of time to him and in his eyes, completely unnecessary. “I don't want to.” he grumbled but she persisted.

“Give it a chance!” she protested, forcing him to take the book, “You can take your time with it, I don't mind really.” Her smile beamed at him again. It was a mixture of revolting and endearing whenever she did that, and his face twisted as he looked down at the book she forced into his hands.

He grumbled an incoherent response, and shoved the book under his arm, watching as her face lit up even more at the response of him taking it. That smile of hers was manipulative. How could something so innocent looking be fused with such evil? “Fine...” he murmured as he took the book in his hand and looked at the back of it, a series of unfamiliar words were printed across the cover, “...What's it about?”

“It's better if you figure it out for yourself.” She walked around him to open the book to the first page, “I don't want to spoil anything for you, because otherwise it'll ruin the whole story.” She pointed to the text of the first paragraph, “Just read it when you're free. I'm in no rush to get it back. I have others I can read in the meantime.”

He grimaced as he stared at the paragraph, trying to sound out the words in his mind. It was hopeless however. Everything looked like scribbled text that had no order or meaning. He pulled the book away from her hand and closed it once more, tucking it back under his arm. “Yeah, alright. It'll probably be a while.”

“That's fine!” she chimed as her smile radiated once more. “I just really want to know your opinions on it. I feel like I have no one to talk to about books here...”

“Talk to Eto.”

“I don't get to see her as much as I see you...” her smile faded a bit. “It'd mean a lot to me...and it'd give us something else to talk about.”

“What's wrong with what we talk about now?” he scowled.

“Nothing!” she held her hands up in defense, “It's just nice to have something different is all...”

“Whatever.” he shrugged. “I'll read it, okay? I'm not much of a conversationalist though, got it?”

“It's fine.” she smiled sweetly again. “Let me know how it goes, okay?”

\---

 

“How far along are you?” Hinami smiled as she walked over towards the couch.

Ayato was sitting there, feet up on the table in front of him as he squinted at the pages, looking at the chunk he had flipped through already. “Uh...about a third of the way?”

“Oh wow!” she joyfully responded as she sat down next to him, peering at the page he was on, “Oh! I loved that part!” she placed her hands on his thigh, shaking it slightly with excitement, “So tell me, what do you think so far? Is it good? Is it exciting? Please I want to know!”

“Uh...” he looked back at the page, hoping for some sort of clue but again it was nothing. All he saw was an array of unfamiliar words that looked foreign to him. “It's good I guess.”

“Good?” she seemed confused by his response, “Well...what do you think of the story? Do you have a favorite character yet? What do you think will happen?”

“God if I know, Hina.” he frowned and looked back at her, “It's just good, okay? I'll let you know what I think later.”

“O-oh...okay...” she moved her hands back into her lap, her excitement fading as she went to sit properly. “I'm sorry.”

“What?” he raised a brow, “Why the fuck are you sorry?”

She shook her head, “I just got really excited is all. Hinami turned her head and forced a smile at him, “I felt like it's been so long since I've gotten to read a book with someone and talk about it. Sorry if I'm a bit eccentric about the whole thing...”

“Whatever.” Ayato sunk down against the couch, eyes moving back towards the book as he flipped the page.

Hinami looked back at him, eyes softening as her smile was more genuine this time, “You're a fast reader though...faster than me I think.”

He flipped another page.

“I guess you really are a book enthusiast.”

“I'm not.” he muttered, flipping another page, “I hate shit like this.”

“Really? Well....you don't have to read-”

“I'm already invested.” he snapped, because he knew he couldn't back out now. She was expecting this of him, and he had to find someway to bull shit his way through it. “Just drop it, Hina. I'll get it done when I get it done.”

She reached over to pat his thigh, “I'm not trying to rush you...”

He watched her hand from behind the pages of the book, and resisted the urge to recoil from her affection. He flipped through another page, staring at the unfamiliar text as he tried to piece together what any of it could mean. He couldn't recognize any of the words, and as she moved her hand from his leg, he took that as a chance to flip the page once more.

“I'll leave you to read then. You seem really invested.”

“Mm.” he grunted as he listened to her stand up and leave. As the door clicked he looked around to see that she was actually gone, and instantly slammed the book onto the table. “Fuck this.” he growled as he stood up, leaving the novel behind as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh!” Her eyes lit up with excitement as she leaned over the back of the couch. Hinami's face was next to Ayato's as she looked at the pages of the book, “You're almost done!” excitement rang in her voice as she stood back up normally, squeezing her lips tightly together as she tried to contain her excitement.

“Shit...” Ayato murmured under his breath. He thought about how he should have paced out the pages longer as he felt the last page between his fingers. He had no choice now but to turn it, and try and think of an excuse as to why he didn't know anything about it.

As soon as she saw him close to book, Hinami was next to him again, half of her body leaning over the couch as she tried not to lose her balance, her face close to his as a smile beamed across it, “Tell me, tell me! What did you think?”

“Still good.” he shrugged, standing up from the couch.

“Still only good?” she looked up at him, her excitement subsiding a bit as she stood up normally, “Well...what did you think of the ending? About how the main character had to make such an important decision for his friends...didn't that make you feel anything?”

“It was alright...” he handed the book back to her and shoved his hands into his pocket, “I don't really get invested in this shit...”

She frowned, feeling heartbroken that he didn't share her excitement, “Well...did you at least have a favorite part? There had to have been something that you thought was cool...”

“I guess the part where...” his eyes searched the room for an answer, guilt taking over him as he listened to Hinami's enthusiasm fade, “Uh...the main girl...had to do that huge battle...That was kind of cool.”

“The girl had to...” she looked at him with confusion, trying to recall a part in the story where that could have happened.

Her eyebrows furrowed and Ayato felt a wave of panic course through him. Had he guessed wrong? He tried to be as general as possible.

“Oh!” Hinami faked a smile as she clapped her hands together, “Mhmm, that was definitely a really good part!” He didn't read it, did he? The thought crossed her mind as she looked at the book in her hands, “Hm...” she held the book to her chest, “If you liked this one...I know another one that's pretty similar. I think you'll really like it too.”

“Hina no-”

“Please!” her eyes pleaded at him as she clutched the book close to her, “It'd really mean a lot to me...”

“God dammit...” he murmured. 

“I'll go get it!” she cheered, leaving the room quickly, holding the book tightly to her body.

She had a theory about what happened, and she wanted to test it.

\--

"So did you finish it?" Hinami leaned over the side of the couch once more, a gesture she seemed to do regularly now that she was constantly trying to read over Ayato's shoulder. "What do you think?"

"It was fine..." He murmured, passing the book back to her. 

"Did you like it better than the last one I loaned you?"

"No. This one was longer." He grumbled, turning to look at her, "These things are wasting my time why do you have to keep loaning them to me?"

"Because," she clutched the book to her chest, "I was hoping maybe we could eventually find one to talk about together...and you've barely told me anything about your opinions on each story."

"I said I liked them...isn't that enough for you?" 

"Talk to me about plot!" A frown was plastered on her face as she stood up straight. "If you thought it was long, tell me why you thought that? Was it boring? Did the author take too long to build up the climax? What parts seemed slow to you?" 

His throat felt dry. This was the most invasive she had been about the subject matter thus far. "I don't know. It just took a while to read...it was hard to get through."

"And why was it hard to get through?"

Fuck... He felt a wave of nervousness flow through him. Did she know? She couldn't have...she seemed so convinced. "It just sucks. That's it." 

"Sucks is not a reasonable response!" She raised her voice to him, something she rarely ever did. Ayato was taken aback by her sudden explosion, and watched as she let out an exasperated sigh and set the book on a nearby table. 

"Ayato..." Her eyes looked glazed as she looked at him, "You can't read, can you?" 

"The fuck is that supposed to mean-"

She cut him off, "You have gotten literally every plot wrong of every single book I gave you." Hinami sat down on the couch next to him, "You can't even say the main character's name. You have just said, 'the main guy' literally every time even if it's a girl as the lead."

"That's bull shit I can fucking read." He retorted, eyebrows furrowing as he glared at her. 

"Really?" She reached over and grabbed a notebook on the table and a pen, scribbling something down and showing it to him, "What does this say, then?" 

He took the notebook and stared at it for a while, trying to spell out the words. "Aogiri...tree....has lots of members...." 

"Completely wrong!" She took the notebook back and pointed to the words, "It says that you're a liar."

"You have shitty handwriting!"

"Ayato you weren't even close!" She sighed and sat down the notebook. "You know it's okay if you can't read, right?" 

"I can read-"

"Ayato give up." She frowned and looked at the book again, reaching over and grabbing it, "You could have just told me from the beginning that you couldn't-"

"God will you shut the fuck up about it?" Ayato abruptly stood from the couch and started to leave.

Hinami looked back at him, "I can teach you if you want..." 

He stopped at the door and looked at her. "What?" 

"You get so short tempered about things you can't do...you aren't going to learn anything like that." She stood from the couch and walked over to him, "If you will let me...I'll teach you how to read and give you a second chance to tell me if you actually think this book sucks."

He looked down at her and she was smiling again, that same smile that was weirdly manipulative. "Whatever." He muttered in response, feeling defeat as he opened the door. 

"Let's go to the store tomorrow then! I have some ideas that can help you learn." She beamed as she held the book close to her chest, "I promise this will be fun." 

He glared back at her, unable to imagine something like this to be considered fun by any means.


	3. Chapter 3

The following day, Ayato found himself standing outside of a bookshop with Hinami. He grimaced at the atmosphere of people excitedly talking about books, picking up novels and discussing recommendations with each other. "Can we go back now?" He asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. 

"We haven't even gone in yet!" She pouted, opening the door for the two of them, "I promise we won't be in here long I just want to get some stuff that will be easier for you to read-"

"Shut it." He cut her off and walked inside without her, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets. 

Hinami frowned and walked in after him. She wrapped her arm around his and felt him instinctively recoil in disgust. She tugged him gently, "Come on it's over this way. I'll be really quick I know exactly what we need to get." 

The two walked together until Hinami suddenly stopped in one of the sections. She let go of Ayato's arm and disappeared into one of the aisles, leaving him to look around.

His eyes peered the section and his face quickly turned to disgust as he saw various toys and colorful paintings decorate the area around them. "The children's section? Are you fucking serious, Hina?!" 

"Hush!!" She quickly emerged from the aisle she was in, holding her finger to her lips. "Ayato don't raise your voice so much it's rude...plus there are kids around-"

"Because we are in the damn kid's section!"

"Well, this is what we have to start with, Ayato!" She retorted, shoving one of the books into his hands, "We have to start somewhere basic!"

"I'm not reading a God damn kid's boo-"

"Do you need any assistance with anything?" A clerk suddenly emerged from behind one of the bookcases, interrupting their argument. 

"Oh...no we are just trying to decide on a book." Hinami lied, a smile on her face once more. 

"Oh alright...well could I ask that you please keep it down? The children here are very impressionable..."

"I'm so sorry!" Hinami bowed slightly in apology, "He gets a little heated sometimes...right Ayato?" 

He crossed his arms and didn't answer. 

Hinami looked at him and frowned before directing her attention back towards the clerk, "Again I'm so sorry. We will be quieter." 

"It's much appreciated...if you need help feel free to ask." She glanced over at Ayato and smiled, "Oh that book right there is a best seller. My 3 year old loves it when I read it to her at night. I highly recommend it." 

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ayato's head snapped back at the clerk and he threw his hands up in defeat, shoving the book back into Hinami's hands, "I'm going to wait outside. Come get me whenever you're done with this bull shit, Hina." 

Hinami let out a sigh as she watched him storm off into the store. She turned back to the clerk who looked mildly unsettled by what just took place, "I'm so sorry..." Hinami apologized, "He's...been having a pretty bad last couple of days so he's kind of cranky." 

"I see..." She frowned as she watched Hinami look sadly back in his direction. "Do you need me to help you find anything else?"

"Do you have anything that can help for first time readers?" 

"Oh are you two teaching a sibling or something?" She paused, "You're rather young to have kids so I assume...."

"Something like that..." Hinami's eyes followed Ayato as she watched him stop at the best sellers table. He picked up one of the books and stared at it somberly before a frustrated look crossed his face and he threw it back down onto a stack with the others. 

\--

The door opened with a chime and Hinami walked out with a bag in hand. She looked to the side to find Ayato leaning against the building, hands stuffed in his pocket as he refused to make eye contact with her. 

"We can go back now..." She walked over towards him, standing beside him as she tried to get a look at his face, "Did you want to apologize for earlier?" 

He didn't say anything, he just started walking without her. 

"It's okay if you're frustrated," she tried to reason, jogging a bit to catch up with him. "Ayato it's fine to feel this way I used to as well-"

He turned to her, "God Hinami will you please just shut up for two minutes." 

She recoiled and stopped in her place. "I...I'm sorry...I just wanted to help..." 

He saw tears threaten to spill out if her eyes and he felt guilt instantly settle in, "Shit...no just..." He groaned and put a hand on her shoulder, "Fuck look just...I don't like being treated like I'm five okay? I'm practically a God damn adult."

"I'm sorry...I just thought that maybe-" 

"Look I know you're trying to help and all but it's...embarrassing okay?" He thought about what he had just said and instantly recoiled from her, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, "I just want to go home and deal with this while no one else is around."

He began walking again and she silently walked behind him, catching up with his pace as she grabbed his arm again, resting her head against it as they walked. He didn't say anything as he felt her drying her tears on his coat sleeve, trying to hold back the outburst he almost brought her to.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is fucking embarrassing." 

"Ayato...it's just us. Don't worry no one else is around so there is nothing to be embarrassed about..."

"What if someone-"

"No one will find out...now try it with me..." She smiled as her fingers traced the pages of the opened book. It was a thin story that had only a few words on each page, perfect for sounding out. She pointed to each word and said the words slowly, allowing for Ayato to mimic her.

"He...llo...." He muttered, his finger following hers. He quickly turned to her and complained, "This is stupid." 

"We only have gotten through two pages." She replied, "This isn't something you just learn over night. We will have to practice every day if you want to learn anything. Trust me...as soon as it clicks in your mind a whole new world will open up for you." She reached over and picked up the book from the day before, "You still want to be able to actually know what happens in this right?" 

"I guess." He murmured.

"You mean yes." She set the book back down and settled back into the couch, "I promise you'll get to that point one day." 

He leaned against her and put his head on her shoulder, "You swear?"

She turned her head and smiled at him, "I promise."

\--

Months had passed and Hinami felt satisfied as she watched Ayato transition slowly to more difficult books. From time to time, she would walk by to find him reading something outside of their lessons. Part of her wanted to ask out of curiosity, but he was still so fragile about the matter that she didn't want to potentially ruin it. 

Regardless, from time to time she would see him smile as he flipped the page, and it filled her heart with joy as she watched his frustration turn to enjoyment. 

One Saturday, she had settled down on the couch, holding a book of her own. She hummed a tune as she read, flipping through the pages every couple of minutes as she enjoyed the story. 

"Hina." Ayato's voice suddenly called and she looked up, watching as he sat down next to her and opened up a book of his own.   
"Is something wrong?" She asked, looking at him.

"How do you read this word?" He asked, pointing to one of the words on the page, "I'm having issues pronouncing it."

"Hm?" She glanced down at the page. "Intelligence."

"Int...elli...gence..." He repeated.

"Yes. Intelligence." She smiled, "What are you reading anyways? This doesn't look like the last book we bought you..." She glanced at the cover and her face lit up, "Oh!! You're reading the book!"

"Oh yeah..." He looked at the cover as well, "I figured since you've been teaching me a lot I'd go ahead and give it another shot." 

"Let me know what you think of it when you finish." She placed a hand lovingly on top of his and squeezed it gently before picking up her own book again, "If you have any more problems let me know, okay?"

"Got it." He replied, reopening the book and continuing on the page he was on. The words this time felt less foreign to him, and he actually could understand what was happening. 

He felt a pressure on his shoulder as Hinami's head rested against his. She began humming again as she flipped through the pages. Ayato settled back into the couch, turning the page of his own book. 

\--

"Hina." 

Hinami was startled by Ayato's arms suddenly wrapping around her from behind the couch, holding the book in front of her face. 

"I finished it."

"Oh!" He eyes lit up with excitement as she turned herself around on the couch so she could see him, sitting up on her knees, her hands pressed to the back of the couch so she could be closer to his eye level. "And? You're final verdict?"

He shrugged, "It was good."

She frowned and sunk down into the couch, "Just good?" 

"Yeah." He walked around the side of the couch so he was in front of her now, her eyes following as she turned her body to face his. "I will say though, I liked how Satou had to go out of his way and make a sacrifice like that in order for Mei to be happy." He shrugged, "Kind of inspiring I guess...I also liked how Satou ended up getting over his own selfish nature in the end..."

Her face lit up again, "You really did read it!"

"You saw me reading it." He retorted. 

"Yeah but..." Her heart felt happy as it fluttered in her chest. She took his hands and pulled him onto the couch beside her. "Tell me tell me, do you think that Mei should have done more throughout the story? I feel like she should have contributed more for Satou, because then maybe things could have ended differently." 

"Yeah I guess I could see that. But isn't it a bit of Satou's fault for getting involved with her to begin with?"

"But he loved her! Didn't that seem obvious?" She squeezed his hands in her excitement, "Once he realized it, it was too late for him to try and give up on her, but because of their situation, it caused so many other issues."

He stared at her for a moment and tried to contain a laugh but it still came out in a low chuckle, "God you really wanted someone to talk to about this, didn't you?" 

"I've been dying for someone else to read this with me." Her enthusiasm rang through her tone as she squeezed his hands tighter. 

"Have you kept this all bottled up for months?"

"Yes!" She reached over and opened the book to one of the pages, "I want to show you my favorite line." She leaned up against him and started skimming the pages before pointing to a sentence, "This one. It always makes me really happy when I read it. What about you?"

His eyes glazed over the page, following her delicate finger as she moved over the words.

"Yeah, I guess it makes me feel happy too."


End file.
